"On the 17th, we opened the skate park, which is by far the earliest that has ever happened,” McGinnis said. “We’re always under fire from the skaters to open it up and shovel it out.”

City officials say one amenity they’re waiting a while longer to open are the restroom facilities. These facilities are winterized, and opening them up too early could put plumbing fixtures at risk of freezing if temperatures fall low enough.

“It looks like we open them in May for the most part,” McGinnis said. “A couple of them we open in April.”

McGinnis said it’s possible the city will look at opening some of the facilities early if weather conditions warrant it.

Other mid-winter changes

Last week, the Ottawa County Parks Department announced that since ski conditions are currently non-existent at Pigeon Creek, they would be opening the park back up to hikers and dog walkers. The trails there are typically closed to walkers and dogs until winter operations have ended.

County parks officials noted in their announcement that if there is more snow this season, the trails will close again to hikers and dogs in order to groom them for cross-country skiers.

The trails will remain closed to bikes and horses until parks officials are confident that winter operations have ended for the season.